Lack Yields to Supply

I have been praying about supply for quite some time now and there have been several mesmeric thoughts I have to watch out for, and treat through prayer. First I had to make sure I wasn’t becoming so immersed in the suggestion of lack that my thoughts were self-obsessed. In order to break this mesmerism I started a prayer journal.  Every morning I would write a prayer for a bad situation that caught my attention in the world news, or perhaps I had heard people complaining about. I made sure that this book was strictly prayers for others and not me.  This way it lifted my thoughts above my own problems, and made praying selfless. I found that these world prayers met our need also.

Another thing I had to treat was the suggestion that we had a human history of lack, and that this was to be expected as my husband and I were both artists and we have five children to support. I had to treat this imposition on thought with the realisation that man is free from any human history and that we are here now God’s idea, new every moment, constantly refreshed and not held down by old history. God doesn’t know bad history; all God knows is good, infinite good. I realized we were unfettered and uncontaminated by human hypotheses.  I‘ve use this passage many times in other treatments.

We were going through situations where none of our work was selling, and no one was visiting are showroom.  We managed to get enough money together for Christmas food, but didn’t have enough for presents. Our children were lovely and didn’t moan about it – in fact we had the most wonderful Christmas day as we went out and played in the snow! 

At this time I was second reader in our church, and in the Lesson for several weeks were references to walking with God, listening for and obeying God’s guidance, and not doubting. It became clear to me that this is what I should be doing – absolutely falling into the arms of Love, not fearing the next day, or letting in the “what if’s.”  As I practiced this trust, each daily need was being met in the most miraculous way.

Over Christmas time and through January we couldn’t open our workshop as the snow had closed our road.  The situation appeared desperate, as we weren’t able to sell any thing, but money came through many different sources.  Then the day before Christmas each child received a letter from a solicitor telling them they had been left £800 each from a lady who lived next door to my parents when I was little! Wow, what a present!

Once the snow had cleared we were still trying to make ends meet and sticking to the Truth of infinite good.  Some days we would go to work not having enough money for food that evening, and each time someone would come and buy something, which meant we could get food for tea. These demonstrations of supply never failed. Every meal we had enough, and often the children would have other friends for tea too.  It was amazing proof of God’s total care for us.

There was one subtle mesmeric thought that I had to work about, and that was the suggestion that another force could be jinxing us or somehow retarding our progress. I had to understand that there is only one Mind one law in control, and no human mind had power over us.

In March I took on the job of first reader at my church.  There is a lot of preparation involved, so I decided to take one day off a week to really trawl through and understand the lesson for that week.  I can’t say in words how much this duty has blessed this family and my work.  Since taking on first reader our work has been selling regularly and commissions are happening.  The fear that we can’t meet the bills is dissipating, as I am now seeing clearly that all we have is from God, that  God is constantly supplying us, and that we are here to glorify and serve only God. Instead of wondering why we haven’t sold something this day or that, I am rejoicing in the fact that God is meeting our needs, not the work. The work is a result of us reflecting Soul.

I read a lovely article where the writer talked about how he would set his alarm every hour so he could touch base with God for five minutes, and this dispelled the fear of lack, it also stopped his “what if” thoughts running away with him.  During my day at work I now stop and read one article every hour from the periodicals.  I am endeavouring to “walk with God” as Enoch did.  I’m not all the way there, yet but things certainly have turned around.

Here’s one example of how amazing God’s goodness is. It was Good Friday, and when my husband and I opened up the workshop we both felt rather tired, and just wanted to go home and sit by the fire and read. The temptation was pretty strong; but we both agreed to stay and get all the work out on the forecourt of our workshop.  We do this every day – it takes 45 minutes to display all the sculptures, but this is our way of marketing the work. Once we’d got every thing out we got on with our work. I was finishing off a commission, but we didn’t have any money for Easter eggs or food for the weekend.  However we weren’t worried, as that morning’s prayer for the daily Journal had been about all mankind’s God-given talents being spotted and recognised.  After I’d written the prayer I got that calm sense that all is well.

Anyway, as I was working a couple turned up.  They’d been before to have a look, but this time they bought two sculptures, a dragonfly, and a little bird for £210.  As they left my husband and I hugged each other. We now had enough for Easter eggs and Easter lunch!  I got on with my work and quietly thanked God.  Next I heard my husband saying, “Would you like me to wrap it for you?”  I looked up, and he was carrying another dragonfly - another £150!  Then the customer left, and  we

‡ both beamed because now we had enough money to pay for food for the next week as well! Again I thanked God. We both got on with work with silly grins of appreciation on our faces.

In the afternoon I looked out of the workshop door and it was grey and rainy. I saw a rather nice Jag drive past...and then I went back to work, Next a nicely dressed man (the driver of the Jag) walked into the workshop.  He was someone we’d met 7 years previously, and he’d then wanted to commission my husband to make him a sculpture.  We’d met because my husband had driven me to an interview with this man’s company, and while I was in there the man had seen my husband in the car park, and talked to him, and eventually brought him into the interview. I hasten to say I did not get a job, but he did want Simon to make him something.

Nothing happened after that until, 7 years later on this Good Friday afternoon, he suddenly remembered my husband.  He and his daughter loved a bronze sculpture that Simon had made, and they said if we ever had a sale to let them know and they would be interested.  Then we said goodbye and got back to work.  About ten minutes later they came back and said would we be willing to reduce the price.  My husband and I had previously discussed this and had agreed the lowest would be £1800.  We asked what they thought, and they agreed, and we delivered the sculpture the next day!

That evening when we got home we gathered the children together, and I have to say we all squealed with delight!  We had some huge winter bills we had not been able to pay and now they were covered.  But there is more to come.  When we had placed the sculpture in these people’s garden, they said we hadn’t finished business yet because they wanted us to do more work for them. Another part of this story is that in the past it was always my work that sold because it was cheaper than Simon’s, and this was the first big piece he had sold, so his talents surely were spotted and recognised.

This passage from Malachi seems to sum up the prayer process I have gone through – Malachi 3:10-12

10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

I take “bringing all the tithes” to mean bringing every thought into line with God, and then God will rebuke the devourer.